Love your leftovers

Instead of making steep New Year’s resolutions that I know I am never going to keep, I have been taking a few baby steps towards some actions I intend to carry out this year.

I also have a few key words that I hope will help focus me this year. Those words include ‘being in the present’ (less screen time, less multitasking), ‘calmness’, and ‘simplifying’.

We have a long way to go with our whirlwind lifestyle and chaotic and messy home. But decluttering has been in full swing in our house, we have been reading The Barefoot Investor’s book and we have made a conscious effort to try to consume less after the Christmas binge and to go for more walks to the river and beach.

I am trying to meditate daily. I am also trying to spend an entire year ditching coffee cups and using a KeepCup. I am yet to jump on the stainless steel straw trend, but I feel that is coming my way soon.

I am ready for change and calm in more areas of my life. School is starting soon and all those extra activities mean we mums and dads need to strap ourselves in for a wild ride and survive on coffee and wine to get through the blurred first term of school.

Hang on – what about my new mantra of calmness and living with more purpose in simple daily routines? Breathe!

I am also trying to cook more and use more of our food scraps. The death of Lady Flo has made me rediscover an old cookbook that was a present from my mum when I left home over 20 years ago. Lady Flo Bjelke-Peteresen’s Classic Country Collection has withstood the test of time.

Lady Flo not only gave us pumpkin scones, she was a trailblazer with using natural cleaning products and eating whole food. Quick quiche, family sultana cake and perfect baked custard are all back on the menu. The simple names and ingredients make me feel content and a little more in control of nourishing my children.

Sunshine Coast Council has a competition called Love Your Leftovers to encourage us to share our favourite recipes made from leftovers aimed at saving us time, money and helping the environment. Food waste costs the country an estimated $20 billion every year.

Environment Portfolio councillor Jenny McKay says it is all about getting creative: “Nationally, consumers throw away around 3.1 million tonnes of edible food a year, while another 2.2 million tonnes is disposed by the commercial and industrial sector,” she says.

“I am looking forward to seeing all of the scrumptious recipe creations entered into the Love Your Leftover competition. These will all form part of an e-book to share, so you’ll always have different options to feed your family without needing to leave the house or fork out lots of money.”

To share your recipe, head to the livingsmartqld.com.au website and then we can all brag we are eco warriors and published chefs. Nigella, eat your heart out.

Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator. For more from Sami you can hear her on Mix FM.